Page 22 - School Planning & Management, April 2018

TECHNOLOGY EDTECH’S INFLUENCE
As the prevalence of technology continues to grow in schools, using it in ways to improve the teaching and learning experience will continue to expand.
in and out of class, Wasielewski said. For example, students used their Chromebooks to create presentations in Google Slides
for economics class. They learned how
to edit the presentations and add music which was not only fun for the students,
it also required them to engage more with the material which helped them learn it, Wasielewski said.
With any tech initiative of this magni- tude, he said it is also important to invest in professional development up front. Vacaville uses Google Classroom and some of its teachers have become certi- fied instructors. He said proper training is critical to helping teachers understand how to make the most of the technology to improve teaching and learning
“Technology is a tool, not the end-all,” he said. “It enhances the learning environ- ment and allows them to incorporate more of their personality into their work.”
Finding a Love for Reading Online
Throughout the Wake County Public School District in Cary, N.C., students have access to digital tools to read books. Since 2014, Wake County has used the Big Uni- verse digital literacy solution to give stu- dents and teachers access to quality nonfic- tion and fiction eBooks. The district began using the eBooks as a cost effective way to equip its Read to Achieve summer reading camp students with a reading library. The camp is designed as extra instructional support for students in grades 1 through
3 who are not reading at grade level by the end of third grade. Students access the digital text daily during camp to research
a topic as part of their “I Wonder” project, and teachers use the digital text for read alouds. The 13,000-plus leveled eBooks supported the reading camp curriculum and provided content for every interest and reading level. Educators loved that students were beginning to read for pleasure and found the eBooks helped struggling readers enjoy the learning process and improved their reading skills.
Now, all 114 of the district’s elementary schools have access to the eBooks. With just a click, teachers and students can find books that correlate to specific standards and lessons. To give students access to complex text within science lessons,
the district-written science curriculum includes Big Universe eBooks teachers and students can use to help build knowledge around scientific concepts.The leveled eBooks also make it easy to differenti-
ate instruction because teachers can
pick multiple books on a topic at various reading levels. The read aloud eBooks have become a very useful resource for English Language Learners as they help expand
vocabulary. With the rollout of the El Edu- cation curriculum with students in grades 3 through 5 for ELA instruction, students are given time for independent reading
on the module’s topic. The district created customized bookshelves to organize the Big Universe eBooks by grade level and topic for students to easily access both at school and home.
Most importantly, the eBooks have helped instill a love of reading for students. “Big Universe has also boosted independent reading throughout the district,” said Sherri Miller, director of K-12 Literacy at Wake County. “It’s really exciting that students can read a book anytime on any device.”
Demonstrating Learning Through Collaborative Art
As a library and instructional technol- ogy consultant for Wayne RESA, and previ- ously as a media specialist and educator at Livonia Public Schools, Judy Bowling helps educators use a combination of student Chromebooks, interactive AV tools, digital curricula, online resources and more to
Good screen time. K-12 schools are using technology, both hardware and software, to create au- thentic learning experiences and to provide an array of other services for teachers and students. The teaching and learning tools accessible with this technology have allowed teachers to develop more creative and interesting instruction models and make learning more enjoyable for the students. To ensure that students remain safe and productive online, some districts are using online monitoring and classroom management software.
22 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / APRIL 2018 WEBSPM.COM
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